Hole Boring Tool

ABSTRACT

The invention is related to a hole boring tool having a cylindrical sleeve, a piston assembly and the seal located on the piston assembly. The piston assembly is formed of a piston, a neck extending backward from the piston, and a handle extending backward from the neck. The seal is located on an outer surface of the piston and is in contact with an inner surface of the cylindrical sleeve.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.: 60/969,830, filed Sep. 4, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is related to a hole boring tool, and more particularly, to a boring tool for making small diameter holes in earth or sand.

BACKGROUND

For situations requiring small holes to be dug into earth or sand, various tools have been developed. For example hand operated, augur tools have been developed for essentially drilling a hole by rotating the tool about its axis while pressing into the earth or sand. One such tool is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,435 teaching a device for facilitating insertion of a beach umbrella in sand. That tool includes a shaft formed as a helix with a handle attached to one end. The shaft is manually inserted into the sand by turning the handle thereby rotating the shaft. The tool is then withdrawn to form a hole for insertion of a beach umbrella support shaft. These tools are sometimes difficult to use as the force required to rotate the shaft may be great. Furthermore, upon withdrawal of the tool, back filling of the hole may occur. What is needed is a simplified tool capable of removing earth or sand with relative ease while minimizing the occurrence of back filling.

SUMMARY

The invention provides a hole boring tool having a cylindrical sleeve, a piston assembly and the seal located on the piston assembly. The piston assembly is formed of a piston, a neck extending backward from the piston, and a handle extending backward from the neck. The seal is located on an outer surface of the piston and is in contact with an inner surface of the cylindrical sleeve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hole boring tool according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a sleeve of the hole boring tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a piston assembly of the hole boring tool of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the hole boring tool taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring first to FIG. 1, the hole boring tool 10 has two major components, those being a sleeve 20 and a piston assembly 30. Each of these major components will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

The sleeve 20 is generally cylindrical in shape and should be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art to be circular in cross-section or of other cross-sectional shapes such as, but not limited to, square, rectangular, oval or any other suitable shape. The sleeve 20 may be formed of a thin plastic material, metal, a composite, or any other suitably rigid material capable of withstanding insertion forces experienced by driving the sleeve 20 into earth or sand as required by a particular application of the tool 1O. The sleeve 20 extends from a distal end 22 along a length to a back end 28 and has inner and outer surfaces 24, 26 extending between the distal and back ends 22, 28. A thickness of the sleeve 20 is defined by the distance between the inner and outer surfaces 24, 26. This thickness is selected to be sufficiently thin to minimize friction and sufficiently rigid to withstand insertion forces experienced by driving the sleeve 20 into earth or sand as required by a particular application of the tool 10. A suitable stop mechanism (not shown) may be provided along the inner surface 24 for limiting movement of the piston assembly 30 as will be described below. Optional gripping profiles may also be provided along the outer surface 26 in order to enhance a hand grip on the tool 10 when in use.

The piston assembly 30, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, includes a piston 35 having a neck 36 extending backward there from and a handle 32 extending backward from the neck 36. The piston 35 is generally cylindrical in shape to match that of the sleeve 20 and extends from a distal end 31 along a length to a back end 33. An outer surface 38 of the sleeve 20 extends between the distal and back ends 31, 33. It should be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art that while the piston 35 is shown here as being a circular cylinder it's shape may vary just as the shape of the sleeve 20 may vary as described above. A seal 40 is located on the outer surface 38 near the distal end 31. The seal 40 may be formed of rubber, metal, plastic, composite or any other suitable seal material which is designed to interface with the material selected for the sleeve 20. The seal 40 is designed to allow motion of the piston assembly 30 within the sleeve 20 while preventing passage of extracted earthen material or sand therepast. One or more seals 40 may be provided in various locations along the outer surface 38 of the piston 35 and the seals may be located within suitably profiled or complementary sections of the outer surface 38. The handle 32 is designed to provide a suitable hand grip to the user and extends from the neck 36 to a back end 34. The outer surface of the handle 32 may be profiled to enhance such grip and may be formed of rubber, plastic, metal, composite or any other suitable material for providing adequate grip.

FIG. 4 shows the piston assembly 30 inserted into the sleeve 20 with a sealing fit provided by the seal 40. The piston assembly 30 is movable within the sleeve 20 from a pre-insertion position wherein the distal end 31 of the piston 35 is proximate the distal end 22 of the sleeve 20 to an end position where the distal end 31 of the piston 35 is proximate the back end 28 of the sleeve 20. In use, with the piston assembly in the pre-insertion position, the distal end 22 of the sleeve 20 is pressed into earth or sand while the piston assembly 30 is moved towards its end position by the user pulling on the handle 32. This causes a suction within the sleeve 20 which draws earthen material or sand up into the sleeve 20 as it is urged further into the earth or sand. Once the piston assembly 30 has reached its end position, the hole boring tool 10 is extracted leaving a cylindrical hole in the earth or sand. Once extracted, the piston assembly 30 is urged from the end position back to the pre-insertion position to eject the earthen material or sand which was removed from the hole. This tool has been tested by the inventor and found to be useful in preparing small diameter holes in sand on the beach for insertion of a support pole of an umbrella therein. Other uses of the tool 10 for boring small holes are anticipated.

The foregoing illustrates some of the possibilities for practicing the invention. Many other embodiments are possible within the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, the piston assembly 30 may be powered by a battery or other motive force to automatically move from the pre-insertion position to the end position and vice versa. One or several stops may be provided along either the piston 35 or the inner surface 24 of the sleeve to limit motion of the piston assembly to desired locations between the pre-insertion and end positions. The embodiments shown and variations discussed are without size limitations. It is therefore anticipated that the invention be adaptable to different size hole diameters and lengths as required by a particular application. It is, therefore, intended that the foregoing description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting. 

1. A hole boring tool comprising: a cylindrical sleeve; a piston assembly having a piston, a neck extending backward from the piston, and a handle extending backward from the neck; and a seal located on an outer surface of the piston and in contact with an inner surface of the cylindrical sleeve.
 2. The hole boring tool of claim 1 wherein the cylindrical sleeve is formed of the thin material having a distal end for insertion into earth or sand.
 3. The hole boring tool of claim 2 wherein the piston assembly is movable within the sleeve from a pre-insertion position to an end position.
 4. The hole boring tool of claim 3 wherein a suction is created upon insertion of the distal end of the sleeve into earth or sand and the handle is pulled backward.
 5. A method of forming a hole in sand comprising: inserting a hole boring tool, having a cylindrical sleeve, a piston assembly with a piston, a handle and a seal between the sleeve and piston into the sand; and, pulling the piston back out of the sleeve to form a suction therebetween drawing sand into the sleeve.
 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of pushing the piston into the sleeve to extract the sand. 